International Children’s and Youth Film Carnival to offer not-to-be-missed summer entertainment (with photos)
With the advent of the summer vacation, the Film Programmes Office (FPO) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present the International Children's and Youth Film Carnival 2019 (ICYFC), offering wonderful and fun-filled summer movie journeys for families.
The ICYFC is a highlight of the International Arts Carnival and will present a selection of international animations, feature films and short films to be screened from July 12 to August 11 at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall, the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive and the Lecture Halls of the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum.
Among the 11 feature films, seven are animations. In the 3D animation "Marnie's World" (2018), chubby cat Marnie leaves home for a secret agent job in which she meets several weird animals. They are mistaken for a gang of thieves and begin a hilarious journey. "Lotte and the Lost Dragons" (2019) presents the adventure of Lotte and her sister in finding the folk song of fire-breathing dragons. "Anchors Up – Boats to the Rescue" (2017) follows rescue boat Elias, who catches a gang in a harbour with his courage and help from his friends. The film won Best Children's Film (Amanda Awards) at the Norwegian International Film Festival 2018. In "Maya the Bee – The Honey Games" (2018), Maya has to win the Honey Games in order to stop the Empress from taking all the honey of her hive.
Dreaming of becoming a music star, little cow Klara in "Cattle Hill" (2018) helps to save her father's farm and finds that she can be a star in many more ways. "Ploey – You Never Fly Alone" (2018) features Ploey, a little migratory bird who loses faith in his ability to fly and takes on a dangerous journey to Paradise Valley for survival. The film won Best Children and Youth Film at Iceland's Edda Awards 2019. In "Harvie and the Magic Museum" (2017), Harvie and his friend accidentally make the puppets in a puppet museum come to life, and worse still, the evil puppet master turns the whole city into puppets. Harvie therefore has to think of a plan to save everyone from danger. The film won Best Animated Feature Film at the San Diego International Kids' Film Festival 2018 and Best Animation Feature at the Queen City Film Festival 2018.
The remaining four feature films demonstrate the brilliance and bravery of their characters. Little boy Patterson in "My Giraffe" (2017) comes up with a wonderful plan to take his best friend Raf the giraffe to school with him. The film won Kids' Festival Favourite at the Luxembourg City Film Festival 2019, Best Feature Film at the Sharjah International Children Film Festival 2018 and other awards. In "Little Miss Dolittle" (2018), Lilli, with a special ability to speak with animals, saves a zoo's animals with her talent. The film won the 2nd Prize of Best Live-Action Feature (Children's Jury) at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival 2018.
"Help, I Shrunk My Parents" (2018) depicts the long-dead former Director of Felix's school returning to life and shrinking the Principal and Felix's parents with magic. Therefore, Felix must do everything to reverse this. The film won the Golden Sparrow for Best Feature Film at the German Children's Media Festival 2018. In "JerryMaya's Detective Agency – The First Mystery" (2018), young detectives Jerry and Maya have to clear their names by finding the real culprit of a mysterious book theft.
The "Youthful Encounters" section will offer young movie-goers three films about growing up and its bittersweet moments. Set in Soviet Estonia during the Stalinist terror, "The Little Comrade" (2018) is a portrayal of an odd two-faced world from the children's perspective through the eyes of a 6-year-old girl, Leelo. The film won Best Film of the Year at the Estonian Film Journalists Association Award 2018, Best Feature Film at the UK Film Festival 2018 and other awards. "Los Bando" (2018) features a group of youngsters who pursue their music dreams, embarking on a crazy road trip. The film won Best Nordic Young Actor at Sweden's BUFF International Film Festival 2018, the Main Prize of Best Feature Film for Children (Children's Jury) at the Zlín Film Festival 2018 and other awards. In "Home Team" (2017), football prodigy Tito, who is blinded by fame and fortune in his soccer career, recognises what is most important in his life after an accident. The film won Best Actor of Latin Film Competition at the Gramado Film Festival 2018.
This year's "Film Tunnel" section will screen the fantasy film classic "The NeverEnding Story" (1984). Based on the novel of the same name by German children's fiction writer Michael Ende, the film depicts little boy Bastian who is fascinated by the book "The NeverEnding Story". He then enters the land of Fantasia within the story and takes a bizarre adventure. The props and special effects in the film are impressive given the technology back at that time. Moreover, its theme song is considered one of the classics of the 1980s. The film won Best Production at the Bavarian Film Awards 1985, Best National Film at the Bambi Awards 1984 of Germany and other awards.
Experienced dubbing artists Pat Kwok and Kinson Lai will perform live Cantonese dubbing for "Lotte and the Lost Dragons", "Anchors Up – Boats to the Rescue" and "My Giraffe", which will also have English subtitles. Other films have Chinese and English subtitles except "Marnie's World", which is in English without subtitles.
Apart from the feature films, the FPO has picked numerous animations and shorts from around the world and grouped them into three programmes which will be screened during the ICYFC in the "World Animation & Shorts" section. The programmes are "The Odyssey of Love and Friendship", highlighting care and help in friendship; "The Spotlight Goes to… ANIMALS!", featuring lovely animals; and "We Are All Little Heroes!", depicting the big dreams of kids. Ken Kwan, a veteran scriptwriter, director and actor of children's drama, will host interactive activities in Cantonese during the programmes.
Tickets priced at $70 will be available from tomorrow (May 10) at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2019icyfc/index.html.
